Mint Mobile vs Tello for an iPhone 18 Pro
Both carriers, same phone, same 36 months — with the plan, the phone, the fees and the trade-in all counted.
Tello is $180 cheaper — $2,099 against $2,279 over 36 months, buying the phone outright and bringing it to each carrier's cheapest plan.
Cheapest route at each
| Mint Mobile | Plan | 36 months |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited · 12-monthBuy from Apple | $30/mo | $2,279 |
| Tello | Plan | 36 months |
|---|---|---|
| UnlimitedBuy from Apple | $25/mo | $2,099 |
If you are switching with a phone to trade
Every phone promotion at both carriers needs a port-in, a trade-in or both, so none of them apply to the figures above. Priced again as a switcher trading in an iPhone 16 Pro — which Apple values at $510 — Tello comes out $60 cheaper: $2,099 on Unlimited against $2,159 on Unlimited · 12-month.
Both of those winning routes still buy the phone from Apple: the bill credits do not cover what the deals cost in plan and phone.
How this is counted
Everything over 36 months: the plan, the phone after any bill credits, one-time fees, and — the step most comparisons skip — the phone you trade in. Whether it goes to the carrier for bill credits or to Apple for money off the new phone, it is counted as out-of-pocket at exactly what Apple would pay you for it, so every route gives up the same phone at the same value.
Taxes are excluded. T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon prices assume AutoPay; Xfinity's include the internet-customer discount. Anything a carrier does not publish is flagged rather than guessed.